Access to patient information
Confidential patient data will be shared within the health team at the practice and with other health care professionals to whom a patient is referred. Those individuals have a contractual duty of confidentiality. Confidential and identifiable information relating to patients will not be disclosed to other individuals without their explicit consent, unless it is a matter of life or death or there is a serious risk to the health and safety of patients or it is overwhelmingly in the public interest to do so.
In these circumstances the minimum identifiable information that is essential to serve a legal purpose may be revealed to another individual who has a legal requirement to access the data for the given purpose. That individual will also have a professional and/or contractual duty of confidentiality. Data will otherwise be anonymised if possible before disclosure if this would serve the purpose for which the data is required.
Patient rights and responsibilities
You have a right to expect a high standard of medical care from our practice and we will try at all times to provide the very best care possible within the resources available. In order to assist us in this we require that you take full responsibility for ensuring that you do not abuse the service. For example, it is your responsibility to ensure that you keep medical appointments and follow the medical advice given. Very occasionally a practice/patient relationship breaks down completely.
In this situation the patient may choose to register with a different practice. The practice also has the right to remove that patient from their list. This would generally only follow a warning that had failed to remedy the situation and we would normally give the patient a specific reason for removal.
Violent patients - Zero tolerance
The NHS operates a Zero Tolerance Policy with regard to violence and abuse and the practice has a right to remove violent patients from the list with immediate effect in order to safeguard practice staff, patients and other persons. Violence in this context includes actual or threatened physical violence or verbal abuse which leads to fear for a person's safety. In this situation we are obliged to notify the patient in writing of their removal from the list and record in the patient's medical records the fact of the removal and circumstances leading to it. The PCT is then responsible for providing medical care for such patients.
Comments / Suggestions
If you have any suggestions on how we may improve our services, please do so in writing or in person to our practice manager Mrs. Bedford.
Complaints
This practice follows the NHS complaints procedure when dealing with complaints. A copy of our complaints procedure is available at reception. You may also comment on the service direct to the Practice Manager, who will follow up any concerns appropriately.